A request has an end. A client relationship does not

The unit of work is the whole argument

FileInvite is good at what it does, and what it does is the invite. You build a request listing the documents you need, send it, and the product takes over: the client works through the list, reminders go out automatically, and completed files sync into the storage and systems you already run. When the list is complete, the invite closes.

That is a clean model, and for genuinely episodic work it is the right one. A single mortgage application, a one-time onboarding pack, an annual document gather.

Droplana treats the client as the unit instead. There is one portal per client and it does not close. In March it holds their year-end documents. In June it holds the report you sent back and their questions about it. In November it holds next year's checklist. The same link, the whole time.

The practical test is what happens between requests. On a request model, the gap between engagements is empty and the client has nothing to return to. On a portal model, the client always has one place, which is also where they look first when they need last year's copy of something instead of emailing you for it. For the full picture on what a client portal is and how to evaluate one, see our client portal guide.

Where FileInvite is the better buy

Two things, stated up front.

It puts documents where you already work. Syncing completed submissions into your existing cloud storage and line-of-business systems is central to its pitch, and it is genuinely valuable if your practice runs on a document management system that everything must land in. Droplana has no public API and no integrations at all. Documents stay in the portal. That is a deliberate scope decision and it is also a real reason some firms will not shortlist us.

Structured intake beyond documents. Request-led products in this category tend to collect information as well as files, with form fields and validation. A Droplana checklist is a list of documents with a per-item status, not a form builder.

If either of those decides your purchase, the rest of this page is background reading.

Side-by-side

FileInvite's plans and features change. Check fileinvite.com rather than trusting a comparison page.

Pricing shapes, and why the axis matters

FileInvite prices by plan tier with user limits. Check their site for current figures.

Droplana prices flat per business with unlimited clients on every paid plan. Free covers 3 clients and 2 GB with a 90-day retention limit. Solo is 19 EUR per month plus tax, 50 GB, 1 GB maximum file size. Practice is 49 EUR, 250 GB, 2 GB files, 5 seats including the owner. Studio is 99 EUR, 1 TB, 5 GB files, 15 seats. Annual billing costs ten months. Each Storage add-on is 15 EUR and adds 500 GB while raising the file limit to 5 GB. No per-client fee and no overage billing: when storage runs out new uploads stop and existing files stay reachable.

The thing to check is which axis your firm grows on. A four-person practice with four hundred clients is punished by anything that counts clients or requests, and barely notices seat pricing. A twelve-person firm with forty clients is the opposite. Work out which one you are before comparing headline numbers.

What Droplana does not do

• No integrations and no public API. The biggest gap against this competitor specifically.
• No sync into your existing storage. Files live in the portal.
• Logo only, not full branding. Your logo replaces ours in the portal header, on your own subdomain - no accent colour, no custom domain.
• No due dates on checklist items. Reminders run on inactivity instead.
• Not a form builder, not project management, not general storage, not internal team collaboration.
• Not a qualified e-signature provider. In-browser signing records who signed, when, from what IP and with which login, keeps the original alongside the signed copy, and gives every signature a public verification page with a file-hash check. It is not certificate-based or qualified and we do not describe it as tamper-proof.

Who should pick which

Pick FileInvite if: your work is genuinely request-shaped, with a defined start and end; collected documents must land automatically in systems you already run; you need structured form fields alongside document uploads; or you are collecting for one-off applications rather than servicing the same clients for years.

Pick Droplana if: the same clients come back and you want one place that persists between engagements; you send documents down as often as you collect them up; you want signing and per-file comment threads on the documents themselves; or an EU company on German infrastructure is a stated requirement.

If you collect once and never speak to the person again, buy the request tool. If the relationship outlives the request, the portal is the better shape.

For what this looks like in practice, see the mortgage and credit brokers page, the accounting practices page or the financial advisers page.

Check our simple pricing (or start free)

All plans include document checklists, file comments and in-browser PDF signing.
Your logo, EU hosting, encryption and data export are included too.
No per-client fees, setup fees or automatic overage charges. Prices exclude applicable tax.

Related comparisons

The closest comparison is Droplana vs Content Snare. Accounting firms can also read Droplana vs SmartVault, and if requests go out by email today, see Droplana vs email.